Two people have died and 14 others have been hospitalized after eating contaminated sandwiches from a street vendor in Diamante, Italy, amid a botulism outbreak that has prompted nationwide food recalls and criminal investigations.
Luigi Di Santo, 52, an artist and musician from Cercola near Naples, died after consuming a sausage and turnip top sandwich from a food truck on August 6. Tamara D’Acunto, 45, from Diamante, became the second fatality, dying on Wednesday, August 6, with her funeral taking place the following day.
Both victims had purchased sandwiches containing grilled sausages and an Italian summer vegetable called cime di rapa, or turnip tops, which is similar to broccoli. The sandwiches were sold from a food truck positioned on the seafront in Diamante, a coastal town in Calabria.
Fourteen people have been hospitalized with food poisoning after eating from the same vendor, an increase from the initial nine reported cases. Five of those hospitalized remain in intensive care at Annunziata Hospital in Cosenza, with two patients reported to be in serious condition when they arrived.
The Italian National Institute of Health confirmed that several foods found in the truck were contaminated with botulism. Botulism was detected in the first samples taken from patients arriving at the hospital, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Ten people are under investigation in connection with the outbreak, including the street vendor and multiple doctors who treated Di Santo and D’Acunto before their deaths. The Paola Public Prosecutor’s Office is leading the investigation, which also includes multiple managers of companies that manufactured the suspected contaminated products.
A prosecutor working on the case indicated they assumed the owner of the vehicle had only used “one kitchen tool to handle the food,” adding that otherwise it would be inexplicable how contamination spread so widely.
Francesco Liserre, the lawyer representing the street vendor, maintained that products on the food truck were stored in the refrigerator and opened when needed. He stated his client is devastated and convinced that the contamination was already present in the products when received.
Prosecutors have ordered a nationwide seizure of the products suspected of causing the food poisoning. Officials previously ordered the immediate seizure of a commercial product believed to be broccoli preserved in oil, which creates conditions favorable for botulism development.
The outbreak has prompted emergency health protocols across Italy. The Calabria Department of Health and Welfare coordinated with military aircraft to transport botulism antidote to affected hospitals, as the treatment is not routinely stocked in all medical facilities.
Botulism is caused by toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which attack the body’s nervous system and cause difficulty breathing, muscle paralysis, and death in rare cases. The illness commonly results from improperly canned, preserved, or fermented foods, though store-bought products can also become contaminated.
This outbreak follows another botulism incident that occurred approximately two weeks earlier in Sardinia. A 38-year-old woman died after eating a taco with guacamole at a festival in Cagliari, and an 11-year-old boy was flown to Rome from Sardinia and hospitalized after consuming the same contaminated guacamole.
The victims’ autopsy results have not been released to confirm their exact cause of death. The food truck has been seized as part of the ongoing investigation, and authorities continue to analyze samples from the contaminated products to determine the source and extent of the contamination.
The Italian Ministry of Health has activated emergency protocols in response to the outbreak, ensuring rapid distribution of antitoxin treatments to affected patients. The coordinated response involved multiple health agencies and inter-institutional cooperation to manage the crisis.
Di Santo, who was on holiday in Calabria with his family, began feeling ill while driving back to Naples after consuming the contaminated sandwich. He was forced to pull over near Lagonegro in Potenza, where emergency services responded, but he died before reaching the hospital.
The investigation continues as health officials work to prevent additional cases and determine the full scope of the contamination. Authorities have emphasized the importance of proper food preservation methods and vendor inspections to prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
